Batam – Indonesian National Police said on Friday that 27 people have been arrested in connection with two days of violent wage demonstrations that rocked the industrial zone of Batam, Riau Islands.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said two of the men had already been named suspects, namely A, 32, who had been charged with allegedly instigating the riots, and A.M., who was caught read handed throwing rocks at the mayor office.
Authorities in Batam, agreed on Thursday to a more substantial increase in the city's minimum wage for next year, following the demonstrations.
Sahat Sinurat, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry's director of industrial disputes, said that after lengthy negotiations, all sides had agreed to peg the minimum wage to the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL).
As a result, the minimum wage will be Rp 1.32 million ($147) a month, less than what workers had been demanding.
"Initially, there was disagreement about the monthly minimum wage," Sahat said. "Apindo [the Indonesian Employers Association] wanted it set at Rp 1.26 million, but the workers wanted Rp 1.72 million. This is what caused the rioting." The minimum wage this year is Rp 1.18 million a month.
Workers had taken to the streets since Wednesday to demand that the local wage council immediately decide on the minimum wage for next year, following a lengthy deadlock between employers and the workers' union. Under a Manpower Ministry decision, the minimum wage should be set 40 days before it goes into force, or last Monday.
Protesting workers clashed with police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the crowds.
Records from municipal clinics on Wednesday showed 15 people were treated for injuries sustained in the clashes, while five were taken to Kamatya Sahidah Hospital and Awal Bros Batam Hospital. The Batam branch of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPM) said at least four workers were injured by rubber bullets.
The violence resumed on Thursday morning when workers and police officers hurled rocks at each other outside the mayor's office. Police once again fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Shortly before noon, the governor of Riau Islands, Soerya Respationo, and the provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Budi Winarso, met with demonstrators.
Soerya called on the workers' representatives to meet once again with Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan for negotiations on the minimum wage. Budi told the crowd there was no need to resort to violence because "we all are brothers."
About 40 minutes later, the workers' representatives got their chance to meet with Dahlan. The governor, however, left not long after the meeting started, saying the issue was no longer within his authority to oversee.
The Jakarta-based Committee for Living Wage Action (KAUL) had earlier called for the Batam wage council to set the 2012 minimum wage at Rp 1.76 million and Rp 1.848 million for jobs in certain sectors. It also demanded that Dahlan step down over the violence.
Also on Thursday, thousands of workers in Bekasi, another largely industrial area, took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration to demand a higher minimum wage than the level set by the local wage council.
Earlier this week, a threatened massive strike in Jakarta was averted after the wage council here agreed to peg next year's minimum wage to the current KHL for the city. (Antara, JG)